Local Girl Scouts to hold community discussion

January 9, 2013

The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa will hold a community discussion on "The State of Girls in Iowa" at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Applied Science and Technology Building at Iowa Central Community College. Light refreshments will be served.

The Scouts' chief executive officer, Jamie Boersma, will speak at this event that has been held all around Iowa, said Antoinette Bernich, director of marketing communication.

"Essentially we're pulling together people concerned about the state of girls," Bernich said. "What we want to do is find out how you, me, anyone can have an impact on girls today to help girls become better leaders tomorrow."

A "cycle of discouragement" is stopping girls from moving forward, according to the GSGI's press release, and this discussion will seek ways to fight that.

"People who attend this session really lead the discussion. What we've found is in each community, a different key issue comes up," Bernich said.

Politicians, business owners, stay at home parents, school workers and anyone else can come and offer their perspective. Sometimes Girl Scouts attend these talks and share how they've seen girls treated at their school, she said.

"It's great way to have insight into what girls need. It's not a thing about the Girl Scouts," Bernich said. "We talk about Girl Scouts, but the discussion is about girls."